“I Once Was Blind”

Liberals vs Bullies

At a fundamental level, liberal Democrats fail to grasp the difference between bullies and rational people. I think two analogies will help us understand this: the school playground and a local bar.

With rational people, you can expect a person to not be a threat to you if you do not threaten him. So, whether you are giving your child advice on how to avoid a fight on the school playground or you are trying to just have a good, fight-free night out on the town with your friends, simply respecting the people around you and maintaining a non-threatening appearance is good advice – when dealing with rational people.

However, we cannot expect irrational bullies to behave the same as rational people. If a schoolyard or barroom bully wants to pick a fight, then respecting him and maintaining a non-threatening appearance is still good advice – up and until a certain point.

But once a bully crosses that line, his only languages are force and fear. This is true on the playground, in the barroom, and in international affairs. Bullies use force to cause fear, and in most cases they will continue until an opposing force gets their attention. If a bully does not fear your force, then you and your friends are in danger.

President Obama – like Presidents Clinton and Carter before him – has tried the mutual respect and non-threatening approach with international bullies. The bullies have responded like rabid dogs that smell fear, or like a shark when there’s blood in the water.

President Reagan believed in “peace through strength.” By that, he meant that if we have the strongest military force in the world, and if bullies know that we will use that force when necessary, then they will leave us alone and we will be safe. The last three Democratic presidents have tried the “peace through weakness,” or we might say the “peace through non-aggression” approach.

How’s that working for us? Do the Russian and Venezuelan bullies fear and respect America? What about Iran, North Korea, and China?

When limp-wristed liberals are in charge of our safety, we are all in danger.